


Those Who Came Before

by ShianneUrami



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Egg Laying, Grub Death, Grubs, M/M, Mild Gore, Oviposition, Primitive Culture, Unhatched Pupas, Wiggler Death, Wigglers, Xenobiology, Xenoculture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-25
Updated: 2013-08-19
Packaged: 2017-12-09 10:45:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/773304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShianneUrami/pseuds/ShianneUrami
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The time before the Mothergrub was hard. It was kill or be killed, and you did what you had to survive. Nomads in a dangerous world, they're just doing the best they can.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Eggs

**Author's Note:**

> Illustrations throughout are my diamond's work. She's here: http://shadowedfacets.tumblr.com/

His voice was weak when he spoke up, your name on his lips, “GZ.”

He was leaning on you shoulder, his knees shaking under him. You glanced around you quickly before you looked down at him. His hand shook as he presented it, slick with yellow in the darkness that threatens to eat you both alive. You nuzzled the side of his face gently, scooping him up into your arms.

You could hear the river from here, which was where you’d been heading anyway. You knew it was going to be soon, he’d been keeping you updating on the shifts. You settled him behind a gnarled tree with it’s dying branches reaching like clawed hands over the water and to the sky.

With staff in hand you stood watch. The hair on the back of your neck stood on end, and your instincts screamed so loud in your pan you were sure YOU’D go hoarse. The smell of him behind you made your head spin, but it wasn’t disorienting. It drove you mad with the need to keep him safe. He was yours and right now, he was as vulnerable as he could ever get.

Panting quietly, this was the first time he’d done this. You could smell the fear on him too. He was scared for himself, and you, and the potential life, and the potential death. But he was angry too. Or… concentrating? Whatever it was, he wasn’t so happy. Which was to be expected really. Considering his body was try to force out a clutch of your eggs.

Quiet trills between clenched teeth, desperate and pleading. An almost gently whirr in the bottom of your throat quieted him back to his breathing. He couldn’t be too loud. Someone might hear you. You kept eyes focused on the trees and the shadows, and he sighed, biting it off. You glanced over your shoulder and he was holding the first in his hand, a mess of fluids and pheromones, glossy in the moonlight. He’d gotten through one though, the first was always the hardest.

A shift in the grass drew your attention back lightning fast. Raising the staff you whispered his name, “Sollux.”

The rocks shift as he clawed into them, but he couldn’t  be any quieter than he already was. A sharp anxious chirp and you took a step back towards him, crouching to rub his arm gently, trying to be reassuring. He leaned into you and his skin against yours burned hotter than the sun. Slick with sweat, his blood pusher beating so fast. You rubbed his back, watching everything around the two of you.

“Just keep going my bravest red brother. Almost there.”

He nodded against you, running one horn against your shoulder before he stiffened up, his body trying again to force them out. You rubbed his back, trying to be as supportive as possible, despite not having a clue how to quell his anxious little clicks. You didn’t hear the shift again though, it might have just been an animal. Or another troll who was smart enough not to bother against a highblood and a psionic. Whatever it was, you were able to sit next to him, rocking him and whirring that reassuring sound.

Slowly, so slowly, he worked them out of his brood pouch, leaning on you heavily the longer he pushed through this. He was so tired, and you couldn’t count them in the shade here. You had no idea how many he carried, but hopefully it wasn’t too many more. You hated to see him this exhausted. He’d been so tired lately, this was such a hard thing to do.

You reached over to rub your hand over his still distended gut, but he hissed and you froze. His face softened after a moment and it was alright. He was still stuck in murdermode, but you couldn’t blame him. One hand held tight to your arm and the last of it pushed free, sliding into his other hand. You tried to move, but he shook his head. A few more convulses, his muscles clenching up, and the ground was seeping his color, strings of mucus and reeking of things that made you wild.

He was still panting, his thorax heaving with each breath. But slowly he pulled himself to his feet, and you helped him collect up your shared clutch. Initially he bristled when you tried to help, but he was too tired to fight. And you were his matesprit. The air was starting to warm, and you knew that morning was on it’s way. Cradling your offspring in hand the two of you slunk away from the mess, seeking shelter for the night.


	2. Larvae

You weren’t even sure how many there were. You’d been so caught up in the flurry of the act, you hadn’t really been concerned with the logistics of counting the eggs that felt like fire pushing through you. Hard and unyielding, threatening to break you in half. And before you’d even had a chance to catch your breath properly you were off and moving again. You’d wanted to wash them off, the river right at your feet, but the sun would have been rising soon and you just couldn’t spare the time.

You and Gamzee had found shelter in one of the extensive caveworks carved into the side of the mountain. He had left you at the entrance to go scout deeper, checking to make sure there were no other dangers lurking in the dark.

Leaning against the curve of the wall, you slipped in and out of consciousness for a while, exhausted beyond belief. A quiet chirp woke you some time later, the sun rising in the north already made your skin crawl and sweat bead on your neck. Gamzee helped you collect you trove back up, leading you back farther around the turn in the cave. A little nest of grass was already set up to the side and he helped lower you down, your legs still shaking something fierce.

A second little pile sat above the head of the nest and you set what you have inside and he placed what he had in it carefully and you’re able to actually count them out. There was seven of them. You ran a finger over them, watching them with tired eyes.

Gamzee sat next to you, watching the sun creep into the cave around the bend and it was hot out this morning, but right now things were alright. No one was dead, and you finally didn’t have to worry about carrying a pouch full of eggs around. You could stay here for a while, with each other and away from others and take care of your spawn. You fell asleep under his watchful eye.

When the sun was high, he laid behind you, wrapping his arms around you. His cool skin against your back made you curl up in his arms, tucking your head under his chin and fell back into the slumber you both needed.

You fell into a routine after that, and it was simple enough. Your lives had always been nothing but routine and repetition. You did what you had to survive, and if that meant venturing out just after sunset to see if you could catch something to eat, scrounge up some roots, dive into the river and scrub the grime off, collect some water and go back, then that is what you did. And that’s all you did.

You watched the steady progress in the eggs, shifting in color, growing darker as the days passed. Sometimes you’ll scoop one or two up and hold them, feeling the warmth from the inside out. Some are warmer than others, but it’s hard to tell with all of them in a little cluster, sharing the heat.

Slowly though, the days passed and you waited, leaning against your matesprit in the dark and chittering together. You decided that the hatching would likely give away your position, so after they’d done what all grubs do and kill one another, you would leave the next night. A rock settled in your gut to think about them tearing each other apart in front of you, but this was how it was. You had to stay strong and keep moving. Survive.

Gamzee held you close when you are tired, still recovering from the whole ordeal. Or when you got emotional, which you blamed on residual hormonal imbalances. He laughed and told you you were being ridiculous and if you needed to cry, let it out.

And one morning while you’d been asleep, their screeches and chirps and sharp trills had woken you. Gamzee was already up and around, hovering but not interfering. They had to do most of this alone. With your jaw set, you stayed where you were. You didn’t want to get up. You were staying right where you were.

You listened to the shells crack under them and things move, and the small relieved sound Gamzee chirped at them now and again. It set you on edge, and you rolled over.

A hand on your arm startled you. You rolled back over to see one perched on his shoulder, a little indigo. And he held a yellow in his hand. He smiled at you, and you felt another nudge up into your back. An olive climbed up at your knees to curl up next to you too. Another yellow skittered behind Gamzee’s foot. They knew who you were, and they made these tiny pathetic sounds that make your blood pusher ache.

 

 

  
Five out of seven wasn’t too bad you suppose.

The eggs didn’t taste like much when you crunched through them. You felt almost guilty for it, but you didn’t want the work you put into making them to go to waste. The life they could have had. So alongside your first meal after the others hatched, you took them back into yourself.

You never did move much though, and you tried not to take note of them. Some of them would be dead soon and you refused to get attached to any of them, in case…

There were a few days that were spent like this. Gamzee leftaves you alone with them and brought back meat. You all tore into it, you admittedly a little less enthusiastic than the grubs. One of the two yellows liked to nibble on things. Fingers, horns, toes. The indigo was a chubby little thing, but he was strong. The brown slept a lot, sluggish and slow. You knew he wouldn’t make it when the time came.

The first hiss and squelch of teeth into flesh made you want to vomit.

You’d absconded quickly, getting away from what would soon be a bloodbath. You did vomit, leaning against the mouth of the cave, losing your breakfast across the rocks. Gamzee had rubbed your back and helped you back inside. It was night, the clouds eclipsing the moons. You didn’t turn down the bend, because hearing it was hard enough.

A solid form around you, Gamzee settling in behind you again. He was on edge, shaking a little himself. He wasn’t as great with this as he’d thought he would be either. You tried to drown out the sounds, thinking about other things, but it was difficult.

Silence found you a little before sunrise. You picked your head up to listen for fighting, still so uneasy. But it was Gamzee who got up to investigate.

He came back a few minutes later, gesturing around the corner. Three were curled up together, their quarrel over. They were all scratched up and bleeding in places, but all accepted they couldn’t win out over the others. A fourth was laying off to the side, worse off, but still alive. One of the two yellows was laying motionless away from the others. Splashes and dots of their colors speckled the floor of the cave.

You and Gamzee let the survivors sleep, their battle wasn’t over yet. It was never over. You and Gamzee still fought the fight that was life.

He brought the body of the yellowblood to you and your blood pusher hurt looking at it’s crippled body. A little psionic like you. You held it close, whirring sadly. You did cry, and Gamzee rubbed your back, sniffling himself. He left you be, licking the wounds of those who has survived so far. You cradled the lifeless grub for a while before sinking teeth into it.

You closed yourself off from the act as you ate, but the taste it left on your tongue stayed with you for longer than you would have liked to admit.


	3. Pupas

The sky was clear that night, but it was warm out. Drizzling, but it was pleasant. A nice calm night really. You stood at the mouth of yet another cave, smaller this one, which you’d stopped in when it had been pouring earlier. And it was just your luck that the grubs you carried with you had decided right then and there had been a wonderful time to start spinning their coons. The indigo was the first, curling up against the slope of the cave. You had watched the others follow suit, the brown the last. It had taken them a few hours, but they had all managed to build themselves good sized coons. Now it was a matter of waiting this part out.

You didn’t want THIS cave to be the one this happened in, but you take it as a blessing as you’d seen far too many burned cocoons hanging in the trees across the forests, crisp from literally cooking the poor grub alive in the sun.

You were going to have to go out and find some way to cover the entrance tonight, the cave itself too shallow to avoid the sun any other way. Oh the woes of the world. But that could wait until later. You were going to relax for a short while, another milestone conquered.

A quiet croon behind you pulled your attention and you stepped away from the entrance and back into the darkness to sit next to your matesprit, the both of you kept an eye on the coons lining the wall. You ran a hand over the brown’s, holding out hope it would make it through this alright. They were all doing so well so far, it made your thorax ache with pride.

You pulled Sollux up into your lap, settling him close to you before you licked a thick line up the side of his neck and face. He laughed and pushed on your face, the faint glow behind his eyes that you knew meant he was happy. He bonked his forehead up against yours gently, a quiet chirp under his words,

“Red for you GZ.”

You had returned the smile, nuzzling into the side of his face gently, “All the reddest shades my perfect golden brother.”  
  


You saw the barest shade of that color across his cheeks before he tucked his head into the curve of your neck, wrapping his arms around you, “You fucking thap.”

You laughed in his ear and turned a little, watching the cocoons with him. He’d kept a close eye on them, not subtle in the least. You’d kept a close eye on them too. A rumble kicked up in your chest and it took him a moment, but he had one to match it, purring and whirring quietly. Nothing but comfort and happiness now.

“What’s on your mind Sol?” You asked, nudging his ear. The pheromones had finally started easing off him, and being close to him finally, FINALLY didn’t drive you mad with want. (Not that YOU’D argued about that. That had been all him kicking up a fuss.)

“Mm?” He sounded distracted.

“What’s swirling around up in this sparkling pan of yours?” You tried to be a little more clear the second time. You and clear though, as he’d mentioned, weren’t really the best of friends. You tried keeping things simple, precise and to the point, but there were so many words out there that sometimes it was just hard to pick the ones you needed and used ones that tasted nice rolling off your tongue.

“Jutht… thinking.”

Sollux had too many teeth in his mouth, it made his spoken words funny. Your own are kind of slurred sometimes but, you understood one another well enough. Plus, the ways some things tasted on his tongue are way more flavorful than when they drip off your own.

You kissed his cheek, “They’re fine, alright? Just motherfucking fine. No need to be getting your guts all up in knots. They’re doing good.”

He was silent for a minute before nodding against you, tickling you with his hair. You stroked the line of bristles alone his neck, scritching claws gently at the base of his skull until he’s a little chirping mess in your arms. You always knew just where he liked it.

Sollux was boneless against you, the glow in his eyes brighter now, you can see it bounce off the cave walls a little. He’s always been one to just go limp on you. And you loved it. It was when he was at his most defenceless, and vulnerable. And to think it took barely anything to get him this way. He trusted you so much, and that made you so amazingly, mind bogglingly pale for his scrawny self.

Eventually though he shifted in your grasp, climbing to his feet.

“We’ve gotta find thome way to cover the entranthe. Won’t have them cooked alive thith morning. Not when we’re doing tho well, right?”

You nodded, and he helped you up out of the dirt. You brushed off and you pinched his ass before bounding off out of the cave with laughter on your lips.

What you made was shoddy at best and it stuck out like a sore thumb, but it worked and when he stood in the cave and put on a light show, you barely saw a thing. This’d work for the day. You were tired though, collecting up the long leaves that grew on the trees in the area and helping him weave them together into a mess. But it was a functional mess, which was pretty cool.

You angled it just right, your flushmate already inside. You ducked inside, fixing it from the inside too. He wrapped his arms around your middle as you finished and you stood still until he’d gotten his fill of rubbing his face into your shoulders. You laughed and turned him around. He was tired from using his light show alongside his hands to make the cover tonight, and you didn’t blame him. All those mind sparks would take their toll on you too.

But it was done and you could sleep for a while.

He curled up against your hip, your back to the cave wall across from where the coons hung. You rubbed his back and scratched your against the base of his pan again, right where he loves it and he fell asleep against you just before the light paints fire across the curtain. It worked though, only casting tiny flickers of light through the cracks, but not nearly enough to be an issue.

You stayed awake for a while after, not that you needed to. On this planet it was impossible to traverse in the daylight. Unless you liked your skin boiled off your meat.

He might not have said it, but Sollux was worried about them. That little brownblood hadn’t been doing so well. He had two broken legs and a missing horn, so many cuts and scrapes. But he’d kept breathing and going. Moving along, even if it was a little slower. You both had hoped that with the pupitation, it’d pull through this without much to worry about. But the two of you worried nonetheless. He was their dam, of course he was going to worry. But you’d been the one to sire them. It was hard, but you two would manage. You had this long, right?

The days and nights passed slowly, but quickly all the same. It was an odd passage of time really, the nights long and the days short. You and Sollux hunted every night, bringing food back to the cave, and he was back up to his normal speed after the mess quickly. You two would scout the area and once or twice you thought about moving the cocoons, but you always decided against it.

Instead you stayed there, watching over them, always uncertain if they were all dead, or if it would just take more time. You’d go swimming in the river when the moons were high, and you’d lay in the grass and watch the stars on the cliffside the cave was cut into. You tangled quite a few times, and your instinct to penetrate him always got you a cuff to the head which he’d scold you for and then kiss better. It wasn’t your fault, but you did understand. You couldn’t afford to fill him up with another brood so soon. Maybe after you’d let these wigglers scamper off on their own to find lusii, but right now, no. It was hard enough when he was sick all the time carrying, but sick on top of caring for this first clutch? It just wasn’t going to happen.

It felt like sweeps later when you heard them. You and Sollux had been down by the river, the nights too hot not to take a dip as much as possible. The swimmers were plenty and they went really well with roots Sollux had a knack for finding.

It wasn’t the same kind of screeing the grubs had made. It was different. Deeper and closer to the sounds you could make. It fried your pan with the sudden panic eating away at you. It was loud and urgent and scared and it would alert predators! The two of you dashed up the path to the mouth of the cave to have your nostrils assaulted with the awful smell. Like a rotting carcass and infected wounds. Sweet things and death. It was simply an aroma to keep predators from bothering, the meat they sought after, if it smelled like that, wasn’t worth it. It made you gag though. You choke it down and pulled the curtain aside to investigate properly.

Two of the cocoons were cracked open, leaking fluid across the floor. The olive was making the god awful noise, trembling next to it’s broken coon, still sticky and fragile. The indigo had gotten halfway out of it’s own coon, one of it’s horns caught in the mess. It made a lower, more frustrated sound. It’d be fine once it got itself untangled. A deep crack and a few harsh shifts now and then from one of the other two, and nothing from the last. The coons had almost tripled in size while you’d been here, but that one… hadn’t. The two of you had long ago realized it had died.

The olive kept up it’s awful pitch that made you want to cry until Sollux scooped it up into his arms, pulling it’s hair out of it’s face. He bounced it gently, cooing quietly and pulling off strings of the cocoon and wiping gunk out of it’s eyes. He hooked a finger into it’s mouth to make sure it’s passages were clear, no matter how healthy it actually sounded.

You crouched a little ways away from the wall, watching the indigo hiss in frustration at his mess of a coon, scratching and biting and jerking his head around. Poor thing was gonna snap his neck or something. You moved to try to help a few times, but knew better. As he worked the third and final coon you expected to see hatch, crackled open. The smell of burned hair came with that one, thick and harsh, electricity in the air. Sollux licked the olive in his arms clean, wiping it down. He stopped to watch the little yellowblood work, a triumphant smile on his face.

The indigo kicked itself out of it’s mess a few minutes later, laying on the floor of the cave trilling angrily before you reached in, scooping it up. As soon as it was in your arms you knew what you were doing. You licked the gross crap out of it’s eyes, holding it still so it wouldn’t claw at you. A sharp chirp when it tried to squirm, biting down gently on the scruff on it’s neck. It went limp in your arms and you let go. It didn’t fight much after that, letting you clear it’s mouth with only a few reflexive bites.

While you were taking care of the indigo Sollux had set the olive down who was investigating the last coon, bumbling around on all four limbs, pulling itself up to stand against the wall. Sollux cleaned up the last wiggler, the little psionic. You were impressed yourself with him, crackling around the edges when he wasn’t happy with what your mate did, but Sollux had started a gentle reassuring whirr when he held the olive that hadn’t stopped. You weren’t so good at that same kind of sound, but you were getting better from hearing it from him so much. You hadn’t really heard that sound when you were young, so it was hard to find where in your squawk box that sound was. But you did find it, a little shaky compared to his though.

The olive eventually ventured over to check you out, the indigo wiggling out of you arms to go pounce on the yellow before investigating Sollux. The whole cave still smelled funny, but with the three of them skittering around, tackling each other and chewing on you and each other, it was easy enough to ignore. Three healthy little wigglers.

Sollux watched outside the cave, looking back to you with the indigo and olive in his lap, “GZ.” He chirped quietly, “We should go.”

You nodded quickly and at the same time you looked over the pupa and the little brown wiggler that never emerged. Sullenly you collected up your charges, the olive with it’s arms wrapped around you neck and the yellow tucked against your chest. The indigo curled up in Sollux’s arms, the five of you set out away from this too familiar place to find something new, another milestone of yours and their lives conquered. You were winning. You were beating the world, and you were going to keep going.

The moons were high and things were alright.


	4. Nymphs

You ended up using your psionics a hell of a lot more after your wigglers started running around than ever before. They’ve learned quickly to be quiet, especially at night. You cracked down on that quickly, reprimanding them if they were too loud. During the day though, the chirps and playful growls at they rolled around and hung off the two of you echoed out of your hiding spots. No predators would get you during the day, but it meant you headed out at sunset every night. You and Gamzee wouldn’t be taking any chances.

You would snatch them up with psionics if they got out of an arm’s reach, tucking them into your lap to groom them. The olive and the indigo would sit with you and let you do your work, but the yellow just couldn’t sit still. He was almost always up and about looking and chirping at things. He was definitely the most energetic of the three, but you had expected that. He was a psionic after all.

Getting him to curl up with you at night was a chore, but after half a sweep he started to get it, coming to you instead of you having to drag him back. The olive was more of a spitfire. She had a temper on her, and was prone to whining more than the other two. But she was also clingy, whining about something and then burying her face into your leg, frustrated. The indigo was the calmest. He liked to keep to himself, or sit in your lap and play with things. But he was also the most independant of the three, and was the one you had to scoop up if he wandered too far most often.

The night it happened had been warm, the peak of the warm season baring down on you. Your little family had been down by the river, fishing and teaching the wigglers how to swim. The yellow sat on the edge of the rock, bristling at the slow moving water like it had personally offended him. The olive was swirling her hands through the water, you held her close to your chest, chittering to the yellow.

Gamzee on the other side of you loomed out of the water, hair hanging thick in his face. He pulled up from the water behind you, a fish in his teeth. He set it on shore, startling you before he leaned in, nuzzling the side of your face, getting the majority of you that was still dry, soaked. With a chuckle he scooped the little purple out of the water, setting him up on the rock.

The yellow troll sniffed at him before he shook himself off, displacing the water everywhere, his hair standing on end. You snickered, shifting the olive up next to them. Gamzee dove back under the water, twisting out past where you couldn’t see anymore. He was an amazing swimmer, something you could never really get enough of. It had taken a while for you to get used to water when you were a wiggler yourself, which was why you understood your own little goldenblood’s hesitance. Psionics and big bodies of waters, it never boded well. Complete submersion would put a damper on your powers, it was only instinct to avoid that.

The olive turned, tackling the indigo, gnawing on one of his horns. He rolled, kicking at her until she whined, rolling off him to flop over onto her back, a sour look on her face. He headbutted her in the forehead gently, their horns clicking together before he shook himself off again. The yellow giggled behind them and the olive hissed at him, pouting. You pulled yourself up out of the water, picking the yellow up before the olive could jump him too. She trilled at him and he laughed, waving at her.

You nipped him in the horn, “Don’t teathe.”

Startled he looked up at you, whirring quietly. He looked back down at her, but didn’t tease her from his vantage point. She took the hint too, plopping herself down by one of the bushes lining the water.

The purple watched the water with curious eyes, batting at an equally curious fish, squawking when Gamzee surfaced suddenly, back pedalling to land on his ass. You tried so hard not to laugh, but it was impossible. Gamzee set another fish in front of him and he sniffed at it, looking from the food to Gamzee.

So far you’d only ever fed them, not let them try it themselves. Tonight you were going to at least try to see if they could get it themselves. He batted at it once or twice, hooking his claws in under the scales before they shifted and he pulled his hand back. Gamzee watch, sitting half out of the water.

“Ain’t gonna bite. It’s already dead.”

You watched with the yellow in your arms for a short while, scanning the trees now and again, a nervous habit you’d always had. No one would be able to blame you for it though. You spotted a little bird nest in the tree above you though. That might have be easier than the fish, and you personally hadn’t had eggs in a while.

Shifting the wiggler waving down at his family you reached up for the little nest.

“Pa~” The yellowblood in your arm waved.  
  


Gamzee looked up slowly, smiling lazily to him. It cracked into a smile that spread from hear duct to hear duct, and the wiggler giggled, squirming in your grip. You set him down and he tackled Gamzee, not doing a thing to move the brick wall that was your matesprit, it gnawed on his ear, growling quietly. A small snap of the indigo with his fish turn his attention and Gamzee flicked his ear, catching the wiggler in the side of the face with a laugh.

He scooped up the yellow while the purple still tried to figure out what he was doing with the fish. Chewing on it, but shaking his head now and again when a scale shifted under his teeth. You pulled the nest down, finding six little eggs tucked away. Fucking score! Crouching down you handed one to the olive. She sniffed at it before popping it in her mouth, crunching down on it, the little yolk surprising your and running through her teeth. You laughed and mopped up her chin with a thumb, licking it off before you handed one to the yellow in Gamzee’s arms.

He had paid attention to his clutchmate and expected the ooze. He smiled triumphantly, speckled shell bits between his teeth. You ruffled his hair, sitting down then, the nest between your long legs. The purple whirred at you, shifting to investigate the eggs rather than the fish. Gamzee scooped the fish up, hooking claws under them and pulling them off. He tossed them into the river next to him, flipping it over and doing the same to the other side. After the indigo had eaten the little egg, he looked back to the fish.

You tossed Gamzee an egg and watched it go down without him even biting it. You cringed and laughed, “Alwayth knew you were good at thwallowing thingth GZ.”

He snickered and looked up at the caves in the outcropping, “Guess I’ll be having to give you another demonstration later since you’ve all up and forgotten.”

The two of you shared an inappropriate round of laughter, your wigglers were at ease because you were, the indigo with blood smeared on his face, the yellow worming his way out of Gamzee’s arms to see if he could sneak a bit. Bones and all scarfed down, a good sign. Cracks and squelches of blood and flesh brought a smile to your face because that meant they were one more step closer to being able to look after themselves. Not that they’d be leaving your care any time soon anyway. They could barely walk around on their own without tripping. Licking wounds was a common occurrence with your little circus.

Up on the ridge, unknown to the you and your little cluster another troll leered down at you. His lusus laid next to him in the moonlight. He scratched a hand through her mane, humming softly. He caught her attention, gesturing down at you and she stood, shaking out her fur before waiting for his nod.

He made a sharp click and she bounded down the side of the ridge, skittering through the rocks and he jumped after her. She was sleek and fast and she’d distract their attention so he could get the upper hand. They both jumped the stream with ease, descending on the little group with teeth and claws.

Your ear flicked and you turned to look, but you weren’t nearly fast enough.

A great hyena lusus slammed into the bank, clamoring through your party and before you could catch it with psionics, your little olive was in it’s jaws, screaming. Your heart lurched and Gamzee stood to do something but was promptly blindsided by the lusus’ troll, a huge indigo with wide shoulders. You collected up your yellow and indigo, scared and crying already. You stood idle for a moment before Gamzee screeched at you.

You lashed out with psionics in some attempt to help, but he screamed your name again, panic stricken and furious.

You took off into the brush with them.

Behind you Gamzee slammed his head into the attacker’s, raking his claws across his chest and throat, indigo pouring from the both of them. Chucklevoodoos flared as they fought, lashing out and tearing each other apart mentally and physically. The assailant kicked Gamzee off, holding a heavily wounded arm and whistled to his lusus before taking off into the brush in the opposite direction you’d run.

She shook the wiggler once more for good measure and dropped it, bounding off with him, licking olive off the teeth with a cackle.

Gamzee caught his breath, the wind knocked out of him and let his pan close back around his power, panting when he stumbled to his feet, bleeding from a few deep scratches and a nasty bite in his shoulder.

Pulling aside one of the little bushes lining the river he found her. She was broken, the lusus’ jaws had closed around her body, crushing ribs and puncturing organs. She wasn’t breathing. He sat down next to his little one, collecting her up into his lap and closing her eyes to hold and rock her. Death happened. And it sucked through association but, there wasn’t anything he could do about it now. He brushed the hair out of her face and found the horn that had snapped off.

He buried her by the river without a marker, stumbling back off in the direction you’d run, trilling quietly, covered in mud and blood of indigo and olive.

You matched his trill from your hiding spot against a small mound and under a dead tree, your wigglers shaking in you arms. You swallowed hard when he crouched down, blood crusted on his face. He offered a hand and the olive on his skin made you cling to him, unable to stop yourself from crying for your lost wiggler.

You never did ask what happened to her, and he never did tell you. It was better if you didn’t know. You used your psionics to burn his wounds closed and he screamed, but it was better than letting them get infected. They won’t scar too badly like that, and the two of you had an array of little burns from injuries you’d closed up.

You held the little purple, he was heavier. And Gamzee carried your psionic. He wiggled a lot, but a quick irritated nip to the ear taught him to sit still. You walked until the sun started to rise and found a deep cave overlooking the water. The four of you stayed there a few nights, and to see the two survivors nosing around, obviously looking for their clutchmate, it broke your heart all over again.

You held them and chirped quietly, just doing the best you could in this fucked up world.


	5. Imagines

“He thtinkth thomething fierthe GZ.” Sollux muttered, watching down the ridge with concerned eyes.

Mituna say by the water’s edge, kicking his feet in the slow current. His clutchmate was nowhere to be seen, off getting tonight’s meal. You sat with your matesprit in the entrance to the cave, the breeze warm. But it carried with it your offspring’s scent. The scent you knew well enough by now. It made you sick to your stomach coming from him.

The faint glow of his eyes turned to look at you both and he looked sad. Your little golden boy was sad. If there was something you could do about it, you would, but you can’t.

He pushed himself off the bank and into the water, a small patch of gold smearing the grass. Sollux next to you ran a hand through his hair with a ragged sigh, “What do we do?”

“We keep his hands to his own self, and ours to us. Kurloz ain’t ready to do anything about it, so he’s alright. Just gotta wait it out, both too little to be letting go.” You told him, watching Mituna wash up in the water, a hand between his legs. He looked glum, and in pain. You knew what that felt like.

“How long?” He asked, watching the treeline for your other kin. You had to remember to stop calling them wiggles, they weren’t anymore.

“Don’t know. Don’t ‘member mine.” You looked to him, “You?”

His gaze followed the trees until he was watching your yellowblood spawn again, “I don’t remember either. There’th been tho many between then and now...”

“Guess we’re just gonna have to wait it out. Like some bigass storm.” You sighed, starting down the path away from the cave. Kurloz had been out a while, and you thought it best to see if you could find him.

“Bigath thtorm of ‘won’t thomeone pleathe fuck me?’.” Sollux remarked bitterly.

You turned to look up at him, “S’long as we all keep our hands and bulges to ourselves, there ain’t gonna be no wrong happenings bro.”

He didn’t seem convinced, and instead of following after you, he ducked back into the cave. You knew why though. Of the two of your little ones to survive to be able to take care of themselves, he was reminded that they’d have to go soon. He doesn’t want to let them go. But you knew just as well as he did that you’d have to eventually. You were left younger than they were, but had the fortune of staying with his matron, born of a black romance, until after his second heat.

For his sake, you hoped things wouldn’t go badly with Mituna’s first. They are less of a problem then they help. Well, not tonight. Mituna was useless and Kurloz was missing. You were reminded of this and set off to look for him.

You found him a short time later, he had an avian lusii slung over his shoulder, and a little fuzzy oinker under his arm. He did well, and you were impressed. You took the hog from him and lead the way home. Halfway, he piped up in a voice you’ve been steadily listening to drop in tone.

“Pa?”

“Mm?” You hummed, but didn’t stop. The scuffle of his feet behind you made you stop instead.

“Is... Mituna alright?”

“Your little golden brother?” You questioned, though you didn’t need clarification, “He’s fine.”

“Why’s, why’s he smell funny? And, he won’t talk to me. Is he sick?” Kurloz asked, jogging to catch up, the bird still slung over his shoulder.

“Not sick. He’s ready to be an adult, and that’s how everyone else knows. That smell, you’ll think that’s the sweetest motherfucking nectar later, can promise you that.” You explained, no beating around the bush.

“I’m not an adult yet?” He sounded hurt.

“Not yet. You’re cold like Pa. Mituna’s warm like Da. Warm little sunspots do things fast.”

He grunted his acceptance on the topic and left it alone all the way back to the cave.

* * *

Mituna stood behind Sollux, wrapping his arms around his matron's middle and pressing his face into his shoulders. A sharp hiss made you look up from skinning a canid. Mituna was sitting flat on his back with his matron’s forearm across his throat, snarling down at him. He'd gone after Sollux because you were too intimidating. That and lowbloods were naturally the more submissive, having more to risk and to lose.

Mituna was half unsheathed, but wiggled to expose his neck, a whimper in the back of his throat.

“No.” He snapped, final.

“Wh-why?” Mituna croaked, his voice cracking.

“I thaid no.” He repeated.

You shifted over, setting a hand on Sollux’s shoulder to pull him away gently. You watched Mituna laying in the dirt with a sharp eye, confused, his arousal out of his control.

“You can’t.” You tried to explain, catching Kurloz’s watchful eye, “They’ll be sick. No eggs from kin. They’ll be broken. Got me?”

You let him up and he rolled out from under you, skittering off to tuck himself away into one of the recesses of the cave. Sollux huffed a breath and when you chirred at him quietly, he snapped his teeth at you. Halfway through the motion you saw him realize what was doing and he slumped against the wall, his hands holding tight to his front horns.

You wrapped him up in a hug, resting your chin between his horns.

His heat lasted another 7 moons after that, but there weren’t any more incidents. He understood his mistake, and was usually off on his own in that time. His cycle pushed Sollux into his though, and the frustration of dealing with Mituna had already had the two of you tangled up more often than not. And his cycle wasn’t as big a deal as Mituna’s had been because you were able to take the liberty of taking the edge off it for him. You couldn’t do that with your kin.

Kurloz sat through both lowblood’s cycles half in abject horror, half in uncomfortable distance. It made him touchy. You sat with him a lot because you knew how it was. But you also understood that if your star shines could help it themselves, they would. They would in a heartbeat. Nature was cruel and turned trolls into dripping begging messes sometimes and that’s just how it was.

He understood and soon after the four of you were back to your old routine. One of the boys would go hunting midnight, and you or Sollux would go out first thing. You’d never stay more than two days in the same cave, and you’d traveled quite a lot in the same valley. You’d run into a few skirmishes and more than once everyone came out a little banged up. You cleaned up wounds and kept an eye on them.

“Why do we have to keep them cleaned out? Don’t even hurt.” Mituna asked, always the inquisitive.

Sollux had sat him down while you helped Kurloz dismember dinner. He held his arm out straight, patting his shoulder gently. Then he slammed his fist down hard into it and Mituna yelped, sparking and hissing, yanking his arm back.

“That’th why it’th important?”

“What?! Becauthe you- What?”

Sollux was silent, waiting for him to figure out his words before he answered anything.

“Beauethe you thaid?!” He whined, rubbing the joint.

“Half. The other half would be, you’ve got that arm. You better take care of it, no matter what.” A soft glow of sparks around his hand and he massaged where he’d hit him.

“I don’t underthtand Da.”

“Da’th Da, my matron. He only had one arm. He and hith little group, they were really happy. Him, hith moirail and a third who had feelingth for hith moirail that tranthended definition. He thaid she wath a very passionate troll.” Sollux explained, you had heard this story a time or two before, but it was always beautiful to hear the mirth he put behind his words.

“Da’th matron wath Pthii. Pthii’th moirail wath Thign. Dith wath Thign’th little lady. There wath another, but Da didn’t talk about her much, she wathn’t there for long. They were a clothe, tight knit group and really happy.”

He rubbed his son’s shoulder gently, eyes lighting up when he said, “But Thign had a terrible thecret.”

Mituna’s eyes widened and even Kurloz stopped his work to listen closer.

“Thign wathn’t like other trollth. Hith blood shone ath bright ath the fire on the water at thunthet. Brighter even! He wath a very thpecial troll. But becauthe he wath tho different, he thought that talking to other trollth would get them to lithen.”

Kurloz snorted, “As if.”

Sollux nodded, “Exactly. You can’t talk to otherth. Otherth don’t lithten to reathon. Your mateth in life will lithen, but Thign tried talking to EVERYONE. He got beat up a lot. And when he got in fightth, otherth would thee hith blood. Thee he wath different, he wath thpecial. They wanted to kill him for it. Tho they alwayth ran. Pthii and Dith were alwayth right there with him. Patching him up and keeping him thafe.”

He let Mituna’s arm down, gesturing a lot with his own hands. You watched silently, you too having abandoned the dinner prep to watch. He was so expressive. So much life in your golden heart.

“Then they were confronted by the biggetht and thcarrietht troll of all. All teeth and matted hair and he thmelled like death itthelf. And awful monthter. He told Thign he would not hurt him, and that he would talk. Thign believe him too. The big troll lured Thign in to lithen clothe, and thnatched him up!”

Sollux made a grand gestures, closing his arms around the invisible troll quickly. He slowly, ever so slowly opened his arms to show his bare palms.

“He hurt Thign badly. Tho much of that gorgeouth color thpilled everywhere. The big troll thmiled with all hith viciouth teeth and Pthii and Dith fought to get Thign back. They fought for him for a long time, getting hurt in the battle. Gold and olive painted everything along with the bright red. Indigo leaked from the hide of the monthter and finally, he thmiled a wicked grin, and ran away.

“They went to him, thcooping the troll up into their armth and held him. He wath dying...”

Mituna watched Sollux, his arms curled around his knees, the pain in his shoulder long gone. Kurloz had shifted over to sit with Mituna, and you couldn’t help but watch yourself.

“Pthii and Dith lotht a quadrant to the monthter. A brave troll. They cried for a long time. Eventually, without Thign to keep them together, they went their theperate wayth. But Pthii wath thubborn. He didn’t need help. He didn’t need anything after that. He didn’t take care of himthelf. A bigh thlithe in hith shoulder had rendered hith arm utheleth. Numb, jutht a limp limb.”

Sollux picked his own arm up, dropping it heavy into the dirt. He ran his fingers up it, to his shoulder, tracing his finger along the line of the intersection in the thin chitin.

“It wath numb, tho he didn’t feel the pain of the infection before it wath too late. It turned green and black and thmelled like rot. He knew then that he’d been foolish. He should have let Dith thtay with him. She could have helped him. He did the only thing he could think to do, and got rid of the already utheleth arm, and all the dead flesh and burned it clothed. He thaid he wath thick for a long time after that, but thomehow he made it through that meth.”

He leaned in, picking Mituna’s arm up again, tracing a finger over a long scratch, then over the shoulder joint.

“If you don’t take care of them, they will end up killing you.”

“But Grand Da surived, didn’t he?” Kurloz asked slowly, eyebrows pinched together.

“After I wath hith lath little ray of tharlight, after I wath through my firtht heat, and in the middle of my thecond, another troll came after me. Da protected me. But Da only had one arm. I wath too thcared to help him, and the troll gored him in the thide. He didn’t have that arm, and he couldn’t shield himthelf.”

Mituna’s lip quivered and he looked broken down. Kurloz swallowed hard, shifting awkwardly, his face also painted up sad. You moved from the meal when you saw that, sitting behind him to pull him to your chest.

“What happened next Sol bro?” You asked.

As if he’d seen you for the first time in a long time, he smiled, soft and sad.

“The troll who gored Da, he ran off. Dripping gold everywhere, he ran away. I don’t know why. I don’t remember a lot. I held Da clothe to me, and he told me to keep going, that a valley in the north would have more shelter. He thaid that I had to keep going, and to thtay thtrong for him. And then he wath cold. I left him there, where he’d fought to protect me, and I left to the North.”

Sollux cleared his throat once, licking his lips.

Mituna sighed, looking up at you and then back at Sollux, “Ith... that where you met Pa?”

He nodded a few quick movements then looked to you, baring most of his fangs.

“Do you want to tell them that thtory, or should I keep going?”

“You’re doing a beautiful motherfucking job. You tell it.” You urged him gently, absorbed in the tales just as much as your boys.

“Pa had the motht gorgouth rack I’d ever theen! Thtill doeth.”

You tossed your head a little at that. You were proud of your tines. They all shared a small laugh.

“When I fritht thaw Pa, he had hith hornth locked with another troll. Another highblood. I thought that it might be a fight over a lowblood. I thmelled thomething elthe, but I couldn’t figure out what it wath. I wath new to the valley. It all thmelled funny.”

Sollux dropped his voice and his shoulders, “But I watched, which I knew was dangerouth. But I could feel the prickle of Pa’th voodooth on my armth, and that wath... thrilling.”

You snorted at that. He didn’t think it was thrilling. He’d told you before that he’d been dripping down his legs.

He shot you a look and you suppressed the smile. You’d get what was coming to you for that later.

“He fought with thith other troll for a while, indigo and blue dotting the dirt and their thkin, and when they crashed hornth again, Pa twithted hith head to the thide and thnapped one of the blueblood’th hornth in half!”

Kurloz looked up quickly, a bright smile on his face. That was exciting! Mituna wiggled in his spot, waiting for more.

“The blueblood left hith horn in the dirt and ran into the brush. A thmall olive troll thtopped to watch Pa before she took off into the brush after him. Pa had won! And he did a killer fucking job with hith hornth and hith voodooth. But I wath thtill worried that with the fight, he’d fight me too. Tho I thtayed thtill in the treeth.”

You licked your lips slowly, setting Kurloz in a different position in front of you so he wasn’t putting your leg to sleep.

“But Pa’th nothe ith good. He thmelled me in the threeth, and he waited there, under the tree, jutht watching up at me. And I wath terrified. But he didn’t come after me. Jutht watched.”

You smiled, unknown to the boys a big grin. You’d waited and stayed because you had smelled how much he’d gotten worked up watching you fight. You waited because he smelled good enough to gobble up.

“Eventually I had to come down from the tree, the thun wath rithing and I needed to find shelter. I came down thlowly, and Pa did nothing. He jutht followed after me, and no matter how far I went, or how fatht I went with my thparkth, he alwayth popped up not long after. I found a cave thet into a riverbank, and I thtayed there. Pa... followed me in.”

Mituna laughed, “Pa you’re like thome overly loyal luthii, what?”

You shrugged. Sollux wasn’t telling all of it. You cleared your throat instead.

“Da hid in the cave for a long time, but I wanted to know more about him. He was little, but he could fly better than any motherfucker I’d ever seen. All sparking and shining. And he was stubborn! He stayed in that tree for-fucking-ever, you know?”

The boys nodded, the change in narrative unexpected. Sollux was normally the one to tell all the stories. But you could spin a good tale too if you wanted. Sollux watched with a smirk to match yours. You wouldn’t tell your boys about the more... intimate happenings. They didn’t need to know that.

“And I’d never gotten my gander on a troll with more than one set of pokers. He was all up and doing shit with his horns and I had to know why. Or how. Something. So I kept after him. He ran from me for a long time, but one night, when he slunk back into a cave he thought would be big enough, and Pa knew wouldn’t be, he saved his scrawny ass. The cave was all shallow and little, like him. But he was gonna get burned up if he stayed there. But he was tired.

“So Pa found a big ol’ blanket of vines and moss and leaves, and put it over the entrance. I kept him all cool and safe from the sun that day, and he stopped running from me after that. Guess I proved I was more than just horn breaking and tracking.”

You smiled at him, and he smiled at you and the boys were caught between being happy, and vaguely ill from the amount of sappy nonsense you had just dripped over everything.

“And no, we’re not telling you how you were born. Don’t even think about it.” Sollux said quickly, standing up, “Come on, I’m starved.”

Together the four of you went about finishing skinning and sectioning off the canid, eating it straight up off the bones. After dinner you took turns going down to the river half a mile off to wash up. And after you all settled in for the day, stories having taken a good part of your time.

Not a regret among you.

* * *

Kurloz went into heat half a sweep later.

The boy wasn’t much smaller than Sollux face to face. His horns did him that few extra inches.

And he was a strong troll, taking after you for sure.

This all made for a dangerous combination.

You had taken Mituna out hunting with you, and you’d seen a thick crack of red and blue and you could smell the burning of your matesprit’s energy this far off. You had told Mituna he was on his own and you ran back.

By the time you had gotten back, your kin was bleeding from the head, slumped against the wall but breathing. The heavy feeling of raw energy clung to the air, psionics and voodoos. Sollux was sitting on the other side of the cave, panting and shaking. From the light of the moons you could see his groin slick with indigo. You crouched down next to him, collecting him up. He pushed on you, hissing weakly.

“Did he?”

“No.”

You held him tighter for it.

Enough was enough. You couldn’t do this anymore. They were adults now, the both of them. And they had to be leaving the nest at some point. You couldn’t run the risk of something happening. You nuzzled Sollux gently and you’d stayed with him until Mituna had come back with three rodents and a feline. A good haul, but you knew it was going to sit wrong tonight.

Mituna saw, and he wasn’t stupid. He left the kills by the mouth of the cave and tried to wake Kurloz. Sollux shook in your arms when it took a few times to get him lucid. You and he both wondered how much damage he’d done. But after a few minutes and a few bites of food, he perked up, pupils both the same size and talking, if a little hazy.

He didn’t say he was sorry. In his head, he wasn’t wrong, so there was nothing to be sorry about. While he was in this state, he wasn’t thinking with his head. Just with his bulge. You knew how he felt now, just like you did then.

But you couldn’t pity him for it. Pity was for matesprits and moirails. A patron’s affection was different, but even a patron must cut his offspring loose at some point. Tonight was that night.

You all shared dinner, you picked at yours, Sollux too. The boys ate well, almost finishing all of your share on top of their own. You were glad. They’d be heading out with full stomachs.

When they were done you’d stood up, gesturing outside. Sollux was curled up behind you.

The boys looked from you to the mouth of the cave, confused. You pulled Kurloz to his feet, “Go.”

He stumbled a few steps, turning back, “What? Mit and I should go hunt down something big? Or go wash?”

Somewhere in that cracking voice you could hear him almost begging you not to do what you all knew you were doing. Mituna scrambled to his feet with a look, stepping out farther than Kurloz.

“Don’t be coming back, you hear me?”

“Pa.” Kurloz muttered, “I’m sorry.”

He looked past you to Sollux and somehow, that made you feel even worse. You pushed him, snarling weakly, “Get out.”

The two were all wide eyes and confusion, reluctance and hesitance. But you kept on them, herding them out of your cave and away from your matesprit. Sollux behind you shuffled to his feet, his claws scratching through the rock.

They stood in the moonlight, eyes pleading.

“GO!” You bellowed, growling sharp, snapping your teeth at them.  
  


They took off through the underbrush and you tried not to break when you heard the stifled, choked off sob from your love. This is how it had to be.

Out through the tall grass they ran, and they ran off into the trees, full stomachs, only left to find shelter for the day.

The last longing look over their shoulders broke you.

You and Sollux sat for a while, just holding each other in the quiet. You didn’t want to have to have done it, but it was a part of life. It was better this way.

But it still hurt to have forced the two lives you’d forged and fought so hard for out of your own forever.

You wished them the best on all the shining stars.


	6. Adults

He trilled quietly above you and leaned in to headbutt you in the forehead. He shook his head gently, letting his long horns bounce off yours before chirping low again.

You less than gracefully pushed his face away with a weak whine.

He pinched your thin ribs and you squawked, rolling over to get away. You whipped your head around to look at him and he had the biggest, cockiest grin ever. And it was that smile that made you melt, give in, just like it always did.

You’re a sucker for Gamzee’s smile.

When you dragged your ass out of the cave a short time later, the air is still warm from the day passed. The two of you yawned and stretched out on the cliffside, reaching for the stars. It was sunset, the last licks of fire smoldering over the horizon. You roll your shoulders and Gamzee steps up behind you to rest his head in the curve of your neck. His chin was sharp and made you squirm but he held you still.

“Where to now brother?”

He wrapped his arms around you, his body calm but his eyes scanned the trees and pathways. Forever a cautious predator. You hummed quietly, thinking things over. It’d been a few weeks since you’d been on your own again and in some ways it had been really nice. You still missed them but they’d been the spawn of your first clutch. You were in your own right to ache for them.

Lips pulled into a tight light you sighed. You smiled lightly, nuzzling Gamzee sideways, “North.”

“North eh? What’s north?”

“A direction,” you smirked at him.

Gamzee rolled his eyes, tilting his head to knock his horns into you, rubbing them together before he let go, stepping away, “Seriously Sunspot, what’s all up and happening up north that’s got you wanting to go?”

“I don’t have a clue. Gut thayth go north.”

The other troll paused, looking you over slowly before a knowing smile crossed his lips and he cocked his head to the side just a bit, “North it is then.”

And north you went.

Being nomadic had it’s perks. You never had much to take with you, you never settled in one place for long so it was never hard to leave. Over the mountainside you went, out of the valley. You’d personally never been out of the valley. You’d grown up there. But when one goes through a number of life changing things, things like where you’d originated stop meaning as much in the grand scheme of the world.

The farther you went and the higher you climbed the colder it got at night, the closer you had to huddle into Gamzee, despite how cold he was anyway. Having him close made you feel warm. Eventually you found the crest of the mountain, not the peak, but the point where you were able to take a deep breath and look over the world.

And it was beautiful.

Here at the top of the world you were like kings. Gods. Looking down on all life. This was where the stars touched the land. You raised your hands to the ever expanding heights and felt like you could pull them all down. All the stars and the moons and everything beyond  
  


When you looked down at the world yet unexplored, a sense of excitement rushed through you. It made you giddy. It made you smile. When you looked at all you could do with your lives you felt truly alive.

Gamzee’s hand brushed down your arm slowly and he pointed. Down the ridge, poking their heads out of a cave are two familiar forms. The two of you sat for a while and watched.

Mituna and Kurloz. Your kin.

Smiles crossed both your face and Gamzee’s because looking there, they were alive. They were safe with each other. And they had two smaller mates. They had a little troop. Your heart ached to see them, talk to them, wrap them in your arms. They were your life’s blood.  
  
But you knew logically that interfering in their lives would be dangerous. Too many trolls in one place drew attention. And attention meant death. The group below would learn that in time, but it might be loss that teaches them. You hope that your young won’t be the ones to die for the cause. But all the same if they were to die for their own spawn, it would be a just death.

It was bittersweet seeing them. You’re filled with a happiness but a aching sadness as well.

You smile regardless.  
  
You and Gamzee meet eyes and the two of you look back out at it all, at the world and you embrace it. With a laugh in your throat and a smile on your faces you run down the mountainside to claim your kingdom.


End file.
